536 Highland is located about 3 kilometers northwest of , Lang Son City, . It faces the Qiqiong River to the south, and overlooks the Shitong (Deng) Langshan (mountain) railway and highway on the east side. The highland is steep in the south and gentle in the north. The mountains are overgrown with weeds. It is an important commanding height in the northwest periphery of Lang Son. After the Vietnamese troops defending the Barrow, 417 Highland, and Kouma Mountain areas suffered a heavy blow from our army on February 27, 1979, some of them fled to the Dangkun, 536 Highland, and Nihu areas, and joined forces with the local defenders. As one force, they tried to rely on the favorable terrain to resist stubbornly and prevent our army from launching an attack on Lang Son. The
536 highland and the unnamed highland on its northeast side were defended by about a reinforced platoon of the Vietnamese army. Three intermittent trenches were built, two earthen and wooden shelters were built on the main position, and some obstacles were set up at the foot of the front mountain. After the 487th Regiment of the 163rd Division of the 55th Army captured Kouma Mountain, the northern barrier of Lang Son, they were ordered to use the main force to hold on to the highland and its surrounding areas, and use part of the force to continue to develop deeper into the enemy, annihilate the enemy on the 536th Highland, and ensure that the main force of the division moved towards Lang Son. Offensive right wing safety.
2 company received the mission, the company commander immediately held a cadre meeting to convey the mission. After studying the enemy situation and terrain on the map, he decided to first use a strengthened platoon to annihilate the enemy on the unnamed highland in the northeast of 536 highland, and then decide to attack 536 highland. deployment. The specific deployment is: the 3rd platoon is equipped with 1 82 recoilless rifle, 1 heavy machine gun, and 21 rocket launchers. It is commanded by the deputy company commander. It occupies the offensive starting position on the northwest side of the unnamed highland in the northeast of 536 highlands. Taking advantage of poor visibility in rain and fog, Covertly engage the enemy, annihilate them in close combat, and capture the unknown highlands; then use firepower to contain the enemies on Highland 536, and the main force of the cover company launches an attack from Shuifa to Highland 536. At
10, the three formed a formation and began to covertly engage the enemy, searching for the unknown high ground. At about 11 o'clock, when the 8th squadron advanced to the foot of the northwest side of the unknown highland northeast of the 536 Highlands, they were suddenly violently fired by the heavy machine guns of the Vietnamese army. The 8th squadron leader was shot and died, and 3 soldiers were injured. The deputy company commander accompanying the 3rd Platoon ordered the 8th Squadron to deploy on the spot, occupy the favorable terrain, organize a fire counterattack, cover the 7th Squadron and the 9th Squadron's deployment, and ordered the 7th Squadron to detour to the left to the southeast of the unknown highland, and he led the 9th Squadron to detour to the right. Go to the southwest side of the nameless highland and attack the main peak of the nameless highland. After
The Vietnamese army saw that Squad 7 was coming quickly, so they diverted their firepower and shot at Squad 7. The 9th squadron took advantage of the enemy's firepower and turned to the 7th squadron. They quickly and bravely attacked and broke into the enemy's second trench. Then they used grenades and close-range shooting to start a fierce trench battle with the enemy. At 12:30, Squadron 7 and Squadron 8 also attacked the second trench, occupied the unknown high ground, and wiped out half of the enemy squadron. After capturing the unknown high ground, the company commander ordered the 3rd platoon to consolidate the acquired positions and use firepower to cover the company headquarters to further organize the battle.
12:40, the deputy company commander returned to the company command post. The company commander led the platoon, squad leader and attached unit commanders to go to the east side of Shuifa to conduct close reconnaissance on Highland 536, and listened to the deputy company commander's instructions on attacking the unknown highland. The battle is introduced. Based on the enemy situation and terrain, we studied the strategy of capturing Highland 536 on the spot. The company commander decided to use part of his troops to contain the enemy frontally, and the main force attacked from both wings. He first captured the protruding part on the west side of Highland 536, and then moved the second echelon from the east or southeast depending on the situation. Enter the battle on one side and encircle and annihilate the enemies in 536 Highlands.
The specific deployment is: the 3rd Platoon occupies a position on the unnamed highland northeast of the 536 Highlands, uses firepower to contain the enemies on the 536 Highlands, supports the 1st and 2nd Platoons in fighting, and prepares to join the battle on the east or southeast side of the 536 Highlands; the 2nd Platoon is northwest of the highlands. Occupy the impact starting position at the foot of the mountain, first seize the protrusion on the northwest side of the highland, and then attack along the back of the mountain towards the main peak; 1st Platoon occupies the impact starting position at the foot of the southeastern side of the highland, attack along the back of the mountain towards the highland, and cooperate with the 2nd Platoon. After dividing the tasks, the company commander reported his determination to the battalion commander and requested artillery support.
Under the cover of thick fog, 1st and 2nd Platoons quickly and covertly occupied the impact starting position at 14:10. At 14:25, the superior artillery launched a 5-minute firepower attack on Highland 536. The troops took advantage of the effect of the artillery attack and quickly launched an attack. When Class 2 entered the mountainside, it was blocked by enemy fire. The squad leader ordered one group to provide fire cover, and the other two groups to attack in a detour from the right wing. At this time, Class 1 and Class 3 had already detoured to the southeast side of the highland and suddenly launched an attack on the highland. Attack, Squads 5 and 6 are also attacking the protrusion on the northwest side of the main peak.
When Squad 5 approached about 100 meters from the protrusion, they were fired upon by a concealed fire point of the Vietnamese army. The squad leader and a soldier died, and the attack was blocked. The platoon leader ordered the 6th squadron to quickly circle northwest of the protrusion and destroy the enemy's fire points. At 15:00, they captured the protrusion, annihilated 5 enemies, and continued to attack the main peak. In order to enhance the assault force, the platoon leader ordered the 4th squad to join the battle, and the 5th squad was transferred to the platoon reserve. After adjusting their deployment, the 2nd Platoon organized firepower and attacked the main peak again in two groups. After 20 minutes of fierce fighting, with the cooperation of the 1st Platoon, they captured Highland 536 at 15:20, annihilated more than 10 enemies, and captured a heavy machine gun.
After occupying the main peak, the company commander ordered the 1st platoon to consolidate their position and prepare to resist the enemy's counterattack. When the 1st platoon was deploying troops on the high ground, it was counterattacked by Vietnamese artillery fire from the unknown highland just south of the 536th highland. The 1st platoon leader and 2 soldiers were killed and 4 soldiers were injured. The 1st squad leader, who took over the command of the platoon leader, misjudged the enemy's artillery fire as grenades thrown during the enemy's counterattack. He reported the situation to the company commander three times in a row and requested the dispatch of troops for support. After the company commander learned of the situation, he ordered the 7th and 4th squads to advance to the main peak to strengthen the 1st platoon to resist the enemy's counterattack. Since several squads were concentrated on the main peak and formed a dense formation, another 13 people were killed or injured in the enemy's second artillery counterattack.
In this battle, the 2nd Company, with the support of superior artillery fire, used the thick fog to covertly engage the enemy, attack bravely, and annihilate the enemy in close combat. After 4 hours and 20 minutes of fighting, they captured the 536 heights and killed 17 enemies (including 1 platoon leader). ), seized 1 heavy machine gun, 2 light machine guns, 211 submachine guns, 2 40 rocket launchers, 230 rockets, 2 boxes of heavy machine gun ammunition, and 11 anti-infantry mines. 21 people were injured themselves and 14 people were killed. This battle created conditions for the main force of the division to launch an offensive towards Lang Son City. At the same time, casualties during the defensive phase were relatively large (accounting for 57% of the total casualties). Both positive and negative experiences need to be carefully summarized.
Never fight an unprepared battle. Adequate preparation is the basis for winning the battle. Even if the mission is rushed, you should try your best to make various preparations within the specified time limit, especially the reconnaissance and judgment of the terrain and enemy situation, so as to determine the correct determination and deployment. In this battle, the company only had one and a half hours from receiving the mission to launching the attack, which was relatively hasty. However, based on reality, the company had a relatively accurate grasp of the situation on the unnamed highland northeast of Highland 536, so it first determined the deployment of attacking the highland. After seizing the unnamed high ground, the company organized further fighting before launching an attack on high ground 536. So the battle went relatively smoothly.
contain it from the front and attack from both sides. The company continuously captured two highlands in a short period of time and completely wiped out the defending enemy. The tactics adopted were frontal containment and two-wing attack. Frontal containment creates conditions for detouring to the enemy's flanks; attacking from both wings forces the enemy's troops and firepower to disperse, focusing on one and losing sight of the other, which is conducive to the attack. The company attacked the unnamed highland northeast of the 536th highland, and the 8th squadron contained it head-on. The 7th and 9th squadrons quickly detoured to the southeast and southwest sides of the unnamed highland, attacked from three directions, and successfully captured the highland. This tactics was still used in the attack on Highland 536, and the enemy was annihilated in less than an hour.
The main problem in this battle was that the formation was so dense that there were heavy casualties when the Vietnamese army counterattacked with artillery fire. After the company captured Highland 536, it failed to quickly take advantage of the enemy's fortifications and favorable terrain to occupy the position in preparation for resisting the enemy's counterattack. Instead, it was crowded together, resulting in greater casualties during the enemy's artillery counterattack. At the same time, the 1st squad leader mistook the enemy's artillery fire for a bomb drop and a counterattack, and continuously requested the company commander to send troops for reinforcements. As a result, the troops on the position were too dense and suffered serious casualties under enemy artillery fire. The lesson was profound. The author of
is a master of history and a university lecturer, focusing on the history of the Sino-Vietnam War.
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